Month 6 Day 23

Notebook Entry
Spin Gar to Geronimo met with Major Omar and Executive Officer

Journal Entry
Back from Spin Gar to Geronimo. I rode with Havoc, the Battalion Quick Reaction force. This was probably the first time that I was really scared in Afghanistan. The threat was no high or anything, but the guys drove like maniacs. Gunning the engine through every puddle. They were real assholes, not seat belts, no gunner restraints, no PPE [protective equipment], trying to splash little kids with the water, trying to scare goats out of the way. The were driving so recklessly that my pack actually bounced out of the back of the truck, over about a 5 foot tall barrier and into a huge mud puddle-cool. Then they tell me they rolled a truck a couple of weeks ago. Fucking crazy, I understand you haven’t had a very exciting deployment, but don’t get your thrills on the road. I told them to cool it down, but the guys up in front were driving so fast there wasn’t much they could do. Fuck. I made it back to Geronimo, met with Maj Omar. He is still a dumb-ass. We talked about what we talked about with the companies and platoons. He tried to come up with the excuse that he had already tried but that the company commanders wouldn’t listen to him (probably true). I said fine, and that we should go speak to the kandak XO since the CO wasn’t there. He relented. We spoke to the kandak XO. The XO was in full support (how could he not be it required almost nothing from him but an order, all of the work was done). I also told them how all the HUMINT money was stolen. He said that in Afghanistan ‘if there is a great flood, mothers will abandon their children, men will leave their wives and they will all struggle on their own.’ Basically he is saying this is now an every-man for himself society. Interesting to hear it from one of them. Maj Omar wanted Sgt Salim to come hang out but Salim said that he was afraid the Major would want to have sex with him since the Major is from Qandahar, so Salim stayed with us.